People who handle rope frequently or professionally, such as watermen or the like, develop a knack for handling and pulling on rope without slippage. Obviously, the skin of such people becomes tough and the hand muscles become stronger so that they can grip the rope with greater force. In addition, they develop the knack of winding the loose portion of the rope around the wrist adjacent the rope holding hand to assist against slippage between the hand and rope.
The use of ropes for non-professional use has been increasing in the recent past including sports, such as tug-of-war, and physical development such as climbing suspended ropes, hand-over-hand, to develop muscles in the hand, arm, shoulders, neck and upper torso or chest. People involved in such usage of rope do not have the toughened hands or rope handling techniques of the professionals. Consequently, the layman or non-professional frequently has problems in gripping the ropes, even though knots may be tied in the rope to constitute handholds. Such knots are difficult to tie, especially with substantially uniform spacing, and the knots become too small when tightened to afford the desired result.